Bittersweet
by imgilmoregirl
Summary: When Adam Gold is left at the altar by Milah, he ends up in a bar where he meets the lonely and troubled young woman, Lacey French. Written for the A Monthly Rumbelling prompt "Runaway bride".
1. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time or any of the characters and storylines in the show. This is just a fanwork made for fun._**

 _This whole fic was first half beta-ed by Ethereal_Wishes and second half BeastlyCheese._

* * *

"Do you, Adam, accept this woman as your wife?"

Showing a smirk, Gold nodded his head, saying: "Yes."

"And do you, Milah, accept this man as your husband?" The priest asked turning to the bride.

The look on her face was a little frightened, her eyes wide in despair as she gripped her bouquet of flowers desperately. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun, her white dress so beautiful, she had the entire congregation spellbound, but she wasn't feeling happy and bright at all, just nauseous.

Swallowing back the bile in her throat, she decided she couldn't take it, daring to pronounce: "No."

Those words had haunted him ever since he'd left the church. Gold felt ashamed to be left at the altar, with Milah denying to marry him, but he had to go on, tell the guests to enjoy the freaking party that he had already payed for, as he took his car and went to a bar, the distant one from the place where he should be celebrating his wedding, sitting at the counter and asking for some whiskey.

He took a long sip from his glass, eyes fixed on all the coloured bottles placed carefully on the shelves, a sigh leaving him, as he thought about the great mess that his life had become in just a few hours. His son should be with his nanny by now, asking himself what exactly was happening, why the party had been cancelled and what Milah's final word meant for them, but he couldn't face his precious boy now. Gold needed time and more than anything, he needed a drink.

Feeling the whiskey burn his throat, he tried to analyse every single moment of his life with Milah, in an attempt to understand why she had run away, but he stopped when a beautiful brunette slid on the stool next to him.

"Hi," she said with a small smile, her lips plump and kissable. Gold banished the thought from his mind, feeling foolish for thinking such.

"Oh, hi," he greeted, more to be polite than anything else, because he wasn't the kind of man who enjoyed picking up women in a bar.

When he took better look at her, he became more certain that he shouldn't be speaking to her. She was clearly a lot younger than him, her bright blue eyes shining as she took the tequila she had asked the barman for, drinking it all at once. Her black dress was short and tight, showing every curve of her body, her curled hair falling around her shoulders, beautifully.

"Tough night?" The girl asked, noticing how despondent he appeared.

He nodded in agreement. "The worst."

"Me too," she said in a languid tone. "I hate my job."

She asked for a whiskey, exactly the same one as his, without knowing what he was drinking. Her fingers closed around the glass, her nails coloured with a dark-blue polish. The girl seemed to be nice, but looked extremely upset and even though he was in pain himself, he couldn't help but feel some empathy for her and decided to keep being polite and continue their conversation.

"May I ask why?" he questioned.

"I'm a librarian, just like my mother was," she shrugged, taking a sip of her drink. "I used to love books when I was a kid, but ever since she died, I hate them."

All that came in response from him at first was a blink. She wasn't exactly the kind of person that he would imagine as a librarian, maybe because of the dress and all the make-up she was wearing or maybe it was just the fact that she was drinking like a fish. "So why do you keep your job?"

"She would like me to and my dad drinks as much as me, but he doesn't work a lot," the girl said, her tone full of mordacity. "Someone has to bring food home in order to survive."

Adam knew that tone very well, because he used it most of the time with most people, but there was a difference between them, he was an old man with a horrible backstory, and she was just as young and delicate as a rosebud and shouldn't have been going through the pain her words and actions implied.

"You seem too young to be so bitter," he replied, nursing his drink in his hands.

"Life can be cruel with anybody, it doesn't choose a specific age," she mumbled, fingertips tracing the edge of her glass. A smirk filled her lips as she looked up straight at him. "So, why are you having a tough night, mister..." she halted, pining for a name.

"Gold. Adam Gold."

"Lacey French," the girl introduced herself, stretching out her hand to offer him a shake, which he returned. "Will you answer the question?"

He needed to drink another sip to do so, but he wasn't going to give silence to Lacey, because he thought that she was the kind of person who deserved an answer.

"Today was supposed to be my wedding, but my bride, Milah, she said the big no and ran away."

"What a bitch," Lacey scoffed, making his eyes go wide.

"I guess it was my fault," Gold said, shrinking.

"Why? Did you cheat on her with one of the bridesmaids?"

"No! Why would I?" He defended himself. "I'm a difficult man to deal with. Just that."

And he wasn't lying. Gold was a busy lawyer, very sarcastic, very bitter and used to say the wrong thing almost always. Milah, well, she wanted exactly all he wasn't willing to give her, some kind of epic love that would lead her to greatness and a remarkable life.

"The bridesmaids would be more interesting. Plus, I think I've read something like this in a book," she remarked.

"I thought you hated books," he furrowed his brow inquisitively at her.

"I do. Most time," Lacey said with a secretive smile, finishing her drink. "A girl needs entertainment and not just from the bottom of a glass."

"You're exquisite," he breathed, drinking her all in.

"Thank you," the brunette returned with a smile, then pointed at their empty glasses, "another?"

"Please," Gold accepted, letting Lacey call the barman again to ask for another two whiskeys. He observed her the whole time, the fierce expression on her face mixed with the sadness in her eyes, and he wondered how she could seem to be two different people at once. One hidden soul behind a hard shell. "What happened at your work that's got you so upset?" Adam asked.

Lacey took a long deep breath, eyes fixed on the amber liquid as she worried her lower lip. "A woman spent the whole afternoon reading to her daughter right in front of my desk."

"Let me guess, that reminded you of your mother?" Adam surmised.

"Perceptive," she pointed with a smile, taking a sip of her drink. "Not drunk enough to forget what I just said."

"I shouldn't drink much," Gold confessed. "I still have a son to take care of."

"Really?" The brunette blinked. "So, the runaway bitch was your second try?"

He waved his head at the thought that someone that seemed to have such a beautiful soul like her shouldn't be speaking like that. Not that Milah didn't deserve that moniker, mainly after leaving the church the way she did, but even though Lacey's behaviour said the very opposite, he wanted to believe that she was just layered and all her walls were up for a reason.

And, she was looking straight at him like he had suddenly gotten too drunk to answer her, which he didn't. Gold was just too lost in his own musings.

"Oh, no," he finally managed to say. "She is the mother, and I guess little Bae was the only reason she was going to marry me, but it seems that not even he could make her stay."

"I'm starting to hate this Milah," Lacey muttered.

When he heard those words coming out of her mouth, a smirk stretched across his lips. "Not drunk enough to forget her name."

"I never get this drunk. I need to take care of myself and not let strange men in bars take me to their beds, when I'm out of my senses," Lacey admonished.

"Smart girl," Gold replied, letting his eyes wander around the place, taking in some of the details.

He hated the loud nonsensical music that was playing; he hated the fact that most men in here were just idiots trying to get a single woman like Lacey in their beds. That wasn't a place for him, he should be at home with his son, trying to figure out what to do next, but he actually was enjoying her company very much, even though they were only having a meaningless, half-drunk conversation. Gold was about to ask her another question, when he saw a couple entering the bar, but what got his attention was the fact that they weren't just any couple, but Milah and a guy in black leather jacket.

"Oh fuck," he mumbled under his breath.

"What is it?" Lacey asked.

"Milah."

Quickly, her blue eyes flew to them, going wide. "Whoa, the runaway bitch is here?"

His heart was racing and he was getting nervous, tipping his fingers anxiously on the glass. He had gone to the farthest bar away from his house, from the church, their stupid town had, and she had gone there too? How was that possible?

"Can you stop saying those words?" He almost begged Lacey.

"No, that's what I'm calling her from now on," she returned with a playful smile, drinking the rest of her whiskey all at once and standing up.

"Do you play billiards?" She queried, her eyes dark and brooding.

"I don't think so," he added, feeling his breath hitch in his throat from the way she gazed at him.

Rolling her eyes, Lacey pulled him from his stool, appearing to have a whole plan going through her sharp mind.

"Now you do. Just follow me, and here," she led his fingers until they curled around the fabric of her black dress, which caused him to inhale sharply. "Place your hands on my waist," she commanded.

She walked right in front of him, keeping her hands in place. Lacey was a petite person and even with her high heels, she was still smaller than him, but what really bothered Gold was the fact that he was more in contact with her than he wished to be. And somehow, in some strange way, he was enjoying it.

"What are you doing?" He hissed when she led him to the billiard table.

"Showing that you don't care," Lacey smiled, taking a stick. "I'll go first!"

At the other end of the bar, where she sat with the man in the leather jacket, Milah saw them and almost spit out her drink, coughing repeatedly, fixing her gaze on them, as if she was trying to be sure that it was really Gold who was in the bar with a girl much younger than both of them.

"She is looking at us," he muttered uncomfortably.

Reclining herself, Lacey did the first shot, but none of the balls reached the holes, and she gestured for him to do the same. "I know, she is supposed to. If you want to know, you didn't lose a thing by not marrying her, she is not that pretty."

A small chuckle left his mouth as he also took a stick and positioned it to make his shot. Adam aimed a blue ball and hit the white one, making it go straight into the middle hole.

"Very good," Lacey complimented, taking a quick look at Milah to see that she was still glancing at them. Wanting to give her what she deserved, she approached Adam, smiling at him seductively and touching his tie. "Kiss me, Mr. Gold."

"What - " he stammered in disbelief.

However, she didn't let him finish his sentence. Lacey captured his lips in a heated kiss, and suddenly he was just a man in the bar, kissing that random pretty girl with no regret of the past. For that moment, he let go. He palmed her neck, pressing the beautiful brunette against the billiard table, sliding his tongue against her lips until she parted them, letting their tongues dance together in an incredibly slow rhythm.

It was the first time he'd kissed someone other than Milah in years, and the taste of whiskey in Lacey's mouth, plus the way she was running her nails through his hair and massaging his scalp, sent delicious shivers through his body. God, he knew her for twenty whole minutes, and he already wanted her. He never felt this way about anyone in his whole life, this sudden recognition, as if her soul was being drawn to his from the moment she sat by him, as if she was this part of him he'd been missing this whole time.

And, of course, he knew those thoughts were crazy, and it must only be alcohol speaking for itself, starting to affect his subconscious, but right now, he was lost in Lacey French, and he didn't want to be found anymore. She moaned in his mouth, pulling him closer so her whole body was in contact with his. They were probably offering the bar a small show, and he was about to pull away, when the shadow of another woman stopped right in front of them, storming out.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Milah practically screamed.

Lacey laughed before turning around to look at her, a smile of pure mockery playing upon her lips. "Excuse me?"

"You should be home with, Bae!" Milah accused Adam, ignoring her completely. "You should be taking care of your son, instead of coming to bars to hook up with minors!"

"Minor? I'm twenty-five!" Lacey protested.

"How ridiculous you sound. Isn't that the same you're doing, dearie?" Gold shouted back. "And now I see very clearly why you ran away from that church. Him."

Adam's eyes analysed the man behind Milah, gripping at her arm and insisting that she go back to their table or leave with him. He was much younger and more handsome than he would ever be, but if she had been honest with him and told him about that guy, without making a fool of him in front of all their family and friends, Gold could've been more forgiving.

"Listen, mate - " the man started.

"I'm not your mate!" Gold seethed, a hand firmly pressed on Lacey's waist.

He could feel his blood boiling with rage; he couldn't understand how Milah even dared to come over to speak to him, to accuse him of something, when she was the one who had sabotaged everything he'd been planning the past year.

"Please, let's go to another place, Milah," the man said in a low, persuasive tone, "he is not worth your time. That's what you said to me earlier, remember?"

Taking a deep breath, she nodded. "At least I know the nanny knows how to take care of a child," she complained, "and you're right, he is not worth anyone's time. I bet he is paying this little whore for her company."

Lacey gasped. "Listen up, bitch, I'm no whore."

In the next moment, she had pulled away from him and slapped Milah hard across the face. Lacey had gone to a lot of bars ever since her mother's death. She had kissed lots guys, got some terrible headaches due to hangovers, but she had never got involved in any fight, however this woman had really annoyed her and when Milah returned the slap, Lacey kicked her hard in the shin, only to be dragged away by Gold.

"Are you mad?" He asked when he took her out of there, the people inside the bar following them with their eyes until they passed through the front door. "You didn't have to do that!"

"I didn't?" Lacey questioned. "She called me a whore! And she just insulted you!"

"Aye, but that doesn't matter," Gold said, looking for any abrasions on her skin. "Did she hurt you?"

"No, she has no strength," the brunette said in a distant voice.

She was looking down the street as if she was trying to take everything in, shivering with the cold of the night. Adam took off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders, making Lacey look startlingly at him, like this small gesture meant too much to her. He brushed his fingertips across her flushed cheek, remembering their kiss and wanting more than anything to do it again.

"Would you allow me to take you out for coffee?" Adam inquired.

Biting her lip, Lacey considered his offer for a moment. "The library has a coffee maker, and I have the keys. What do you say about having some kind of midnight adventure with me, Mr. Gold?"

"I think," he started with a smirk, "that's exactly what I need right now."

Taking his hand, she took him to the library and even though it wasn't with Milah, Adam Gold had something of a proper wedding night, but with someone who seemed to be worth his time, more so than the woman he was intending to marry.

* * *

Lacey stood nervously in front of the huge building that contained Mr. Adam Gold's law firm in her most modest outfit, a small paper bag in her hands, deciding if she should enter. It had been exactly six weeks since their meeting at that seedy bar, and she'd looked for his address on the internet, but now that she was here, she wasn't sure about anything.

During the last week, Lacey had made an important decision and that was what had brought her there, to him, the one man who had been capable of making her forget the stupid person she had turned herself into after her mother's death for a night, because he had looked at her like he saw everything she was hiding. That healing time they both had, she would never be able to forget it, and Lacey was more than grateful for what he had done for her, how this broken man had healed her soul.

Now, Lacey felt like she owed him this, stifling back her anxiety, the brunette closed her fingers tightly around the paper bag, took a deep breath and pushed the front door of the building open.

She had a deal to offer him.


	2. Chapter 2

The elevator's doors opened with a low noise, allowing Lacey to walk through the corridor which led to Gold's office. She stepped out, inhaled deeply and went straight to the counter where a beautiful blonde woman was. Biting at her lip, Lacey stood in front of her, expecting to get her attention, but she seemed too preoccupied with the papers she was flipping through to see her. The brunette waited for another couple of seconds before cleaning her throat and making the assistant look up.

"Can I help you?" She asked, her badge indicated that her name was Ashley.

"Yeah, I need to see Mr. Gold."

Putting the papers aside, the assistant moved to the desktop and tipped something, opening some kind of virtual schedule, before turning back to her. "Do you have an appointment?"

"Mm, no," the brunette contemplated. "My name is Lacey, I'm a friend of his."

"A friend?" Ashley chuckled, looking her up and down as if she had decided that Lacey definitely wasn't the sort of person Gold would have as a friend. "I'm sorry, but if you want to see him, you need to book an appointment."

There was a small part of her conscience telling Lacey that she should do as the girl was saying and go home without causing a scandal in the office of the most incredible man she had ever met, but this voice belonged to her old self, the one who would curl on her bed with a book and cry all the day after the terrible week she had, her newest self was the one who cared about nothing else right now but getting to see Adam, whatever the cost.

"Really, do you want me to start screaming his name until I'm heard?" The brunette coerced.

And in that moment the doors opened, and Gold stepped into the waiting room with a tall man by his side, too distracted with their conversation to notice her presence at first.

"I'll see you as soon as all the documents arrive, Mr. Humbert, and…" he trailed off, training his eyes on her, standing in front of the counter. "Lacey, what are you doing here?"

From behind the counter the blonde attendant seemed to shrink. "I'm sorry, Mr. Gold. I've tried to tell her that you don't see anyone without an appointment."

He waved his hand at the attendant, dismissing her, and fixing his gaze on Lacey, admiring how pure, clean, and shiny she looked. That night they spent together at the bar and the library, she was all made up and dressed for a night out, but today she seemed to be trying very hard to look better than that. Her dark-blue dress was still very short but it wasn't as tight as the other, and she was wearing a cream colored jacket that matched her small high heels.

"It's alright, Ashley, cancel the next appointment, I'll talk to Lacey," he said with a smirk, walking towards the brunette and placing his hand on her back, nodding to his other client. "Good afternoon, Mr. Humbert."

He opened the door, leading Lacey through the corridor until they reached his office, a spacious room with an oak desk, a row of bookshelves and comfortable velvet armchairs. He gesticulated for her to sit in a chair adjacent from his desk.

"Thank you, for having me," Lacey smiled nervously, taking a seat and crossing one leg over the other.

"I have to confess that I didn't expect to see you here," he spoke as he reached for the coffee pot, pointing to it. "Coffee?"

Shaking her head, the girl declined his offer. "No, thanks."

He got a cup for himself before sitting in front of her with that welcoming smile that made her heart race. "So, what brings you here?"

She felt as if she was going to throw up and considering that it had already happened a couple of times that week, she didn't doubt she wouldn't. Her glance fell to the paper bag in her hands, and she took a deep breath before placing it on the desk between them.

"I'll get straight to the point, so open the package, please."

Gold raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as he picked it up and opened the bag, taking the small box out. His breath got caught in his throat as he reached for the contents in the box - a thin stick with the two faint pink lines.

"A pregnancy test," he mumbled under his breath.

"Yes," Lacey confirmed, grasping at the arms of the chair, her palms growing damp with perspiration. She was waiting for a big reaction, she thought that he might scream at her or immediately throw her out of his office, but Gold was calm, even though she could see something that resembled panic in his brown eyes. "If you don't know the meaning of the signal - "

"Oh, I know the meaning, sweetheart, that's for certain," Adam assured her, placing it back on the desk and looking straight at her. "This is from that night at the library?"

And though she'd despaired over her situation, he still managed to make her smile. Her hand gravitated to her flat stomach, and she was glad that out of every man she knew it was Gold who had fathered the baby she was carrying.

"You have a peculiar way of trying to ask me if the child is yours without offending me. But I wouldn't be here if I wasn't sure that it was," Lacey said sincerely. "However, I'll understand if you want to take a paternity test after the baby is born."

"Your word is enough for me," Gold assured her. "So…"

He couldn't manage to complete a whole sentence anymore; he was stupefied, both wanting to slap himself for being so stupid and impregnating a twenty-five-year-old girl he met at a bar and wanting to hug her and kiss her, assuring Lacey that everything would be fine and they would have a beautiful baby that he would love very dearly. The words just wouldn't come while he was still in shock, but when she started to speak, he decided that it was better if he didn't say anything at all.

"Look, I've been thinking about this ever since I found out some days ago, and I can't do this Gold. I can't be a mother; my life is too screwed up for that. A kid deserves a happy childhood."

Gold swallowed, trying to understand what she'd just said. "I – I thought we were keeping it."

Lacey breathed in, and he could see the shattered girl from the bar coming to surface. "Well, I'm here because you already have a boy, so I guess you like children, so if you want it, I'm giving this baby to you the moment he or she is born. But please, don't feel pressured to do it. I've read a lot about the adoption system, and they can do the work as well."

"Great," he grumbled with a gasp. "I truly don't believe what I'm hearing."

For six weeks, he had been trying to cope with the fact that his ex-fiancée didn't want custody of their son and preferred to see him during the weekends, and now he sat in his freaking office, hearing this girl tell him she was thinking of giving his unborn child away. This couldn't possibly be real.

"You don't need to feel pressed," Lacey repeated.

"Yeah, I don't, but you come here and tell me that you're expecting my child and want me to analyse the situation coldly?" He shouted back at her angrily.

"Mr. Gold - " Lacey muttered, shrinking.

"Adam," he corrected. "You called me Adam that night, call me Adam now."

"Adam, right," she nodded. "I'm just offering you another solution if you don't want it."

An offer, he asked himself if it was all for her or if she was just hiding herself under her shell again. But he couldn't evaluate it properly right now. He was too pissed off, and he was too worried about what he should do next.

"The mother of my first child just left me at the altar six weeks ago; I'm trying to deal with my own problems, and you want me to decide if I want to raise two children all alone or throw an innocent babe into the system?"

"I'm sorry, it was a mistake," she said grabbing her purse and standing up, tears shinning in her eyes. "I shouldn't have come here."

Eyes closing for a brief moment, Gold commanded: "Lacey, sit, please."

When he looked at her again, she was sitting, tears running down her cheeks, her trembling hands gripping nervously at the handle of her purse.

"I know what you think," Lacey started, "but I'm not being selfish, if I was I would have been looking for abortion clinic on the internet, instead of coming here to humiliate myself and ask if you want this baby, but I want our child to live, and I really wanted to be able to be its mother, I'm just not the motherly type."

"Oh, Lacey," he whispered, fighting against the urge of going to her and pulling her into his embrace. Now he had some priorities. "Have you drank anything these past few days?"

She shook her head. "No, I haven't drank anything ever since that night."

"Why not?" he asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"I didn't feel like I wanted to," Lacey shrugged before pointing at her belly. "And then, this happened."

"Then this happened," Gold repeated, looking down at the pregnancy test on his desk with an idea coming to his mind. "I'll offer you a deal. You go to my house and stay there until the baby comes; I'll provide you with everything you need during that time, and I'll make sure you won't go near a glass of whiskey."

Lacey laughed weakly, still shedding some tears. "After that, you get the child?"

"Yes."

"And you'll raise it and love it?" She questioned, catching her lower lip between her teeth.

"Aye," Gold agreed. "Do we have a deal?"

He wasn't sure if she was going to accept that, given all his conditions, but if they were going to do this, then he would make sure that his child was safe and healthy from the very start.

"We do."

"I'll make a contract," Gold said, opening his laptop.

"A contract?" Lacey inquired. "I thought my word was enough for you."

"It is, but if the child is to be mine, I need a paper signed that guarantees me of that."

With a nod, she agreed, though she felt it was wrong.

…

Lacey went straight back to Gold's office after she closed the library. She had spent the day trying to convince herself that she was doing the right thing by making this crazy contract with him, but she was still uncertain. When she let herself fall into a chair in the waiting room with a loud sigh, Ashley looked at her inquisitively, but didn't say a thing, only plucked a piece of chocolate from her purse and took a bite of it. Gold appeared a whole hour later, carrying a laptop bag.

"You're here," he said as if surprised.

"We have a deal," she reminded him. "You said that I should go to your house tonight."

"Yeah, right. We shall stop at yours first, so you can pack some things."

Lacey nodded, standing up to follow him to the elevator. There wasn't a single part of her that wasn't nervous about his. Some weeks ago, they were having a half-drunk conversation at a bar that led to some incredible sex in the library and now they were here, their lives turned upside down more than ever before.

"Have you spoke with the runaway bitch?" She said in an attempt to alleviate the awkwardness of the situation, but her words seemed to startle him.

"Her name is Milah."

"I know, I just - " Lacey shook her head. "Forget it."

The elevator's doors opened, and they went straight to Gold's car, which was parked in front of the building. He greeted the security guard before opening the door for her, and allowing her to settle herself inside. For some reason, she suspected that if she wasn't expecting his child, they would have never seen each other again after that night at the bar. They didn't speak during the car ride to her house. She only opened her mouth to say the address and then the car was drowned in silence, her thoughts making her compare how different their lives were. Gold had been at that bar out of sheer coincidence. She had been there for too long, drinking to forget all of her problems.

As they stopped in front of her house, Lacey looked down at her belly and sniffled, remembering that she hadn't yet told her father that she was pregnant, but now he would probably be too drunk or passed out to mind her presence at home.

"Are you sure your father will be alright with you leaving?"

"He won't even notice," she muttered bitterly. "As long as I come here once a week to bring food, I could move to California, and he wouldn't realize that I was gone."

"I know how it feels," Gold said emphatically, but she didn't know exactly what he meant.

Opening the car door, she went inside the house, finding Moe sleeping on the couch, her eyes narrowing as she felt the nauseating smell of beer all around the living room. There were three empty bottles on the floor near him, but Lacey bet that he had way more than that. She sighed and walked towards the hallway to her room, packing some essentials, before going back to the car, with only one suitcase.

"That's all you have?" Gold asked, glancing at her bag when she placed it in the backseat.

"Obviously not," Lacey answered with a roll of her blue eyes, "but I don't have any more suitcases, and I can always come here to take more clothes when I need them."

He nodded wordlessly and started driving again. Lacey pulled her jacket around her lithe frame, feeling cold as she leaned her head against the window, watching the landscape swiftly passing by.

"We need to find a doctor to check on you," Gold stated in a low voice. However she was so sleepy by the lulling of the engine that she didn't realise that her eyes were almost closed. "I want to make sure that this baby is fine."

"As you wish, Mr. Gold," she muttered.

"And there is something else," he added, "my son will definitely not understand this situation. He is four and just watched his mother move away with her boyfriend, so I don't want him to be confused about us too."

She snorted at the thought of such a young boy having such a tough life. But she didn't let her bitter tone show because of it. "Alright, so I shall hide in your attic and only come out when he is not around?"

"That's not what I meant," Gold defended himself. "I'll tell him you're a friend of mine who is helping me to give him a little sibling."

"Yeah, that explains everything perfectly as long as he is over the old stork story," she mocked. "But seriously, Adam, I'll do whatever you want to keep this deal up, I just really want to have this child instead of putting it up for adoption."

Lacey meant every single word she said. He had a stable life, money, was maybe still heartbroken over all the things that had happened lately, but for the short time she had spent with him, she could say that Adam had a big warm heart with enough love to father a child. And if she wasn't sure that she would ruin the kid if she was around after the birth, she acknowledged that he was already a good father, and he didn't need her. She would only make things worse if she stuck around.

She had an amazing mother for years and knew how to distinguish what was a good childhood and what wasn't. The life Lacey had to offer to her child now surely didn't fit into the good side, and as a girl who had dealt with an alcoholic father for years, she wasn't going to give herself the chance of becoming the female version of Moe French.

Glancing at Gold out of the corner of her eyes, she saw that his lips were pressed into a thin line, but he tried to give her a half smile, though he appeared to be terribly haunted, he still looked handsome. "Well, prepare yourself to meet my little Baden."


	3. Chapter 3

Gold lived in a big salmon house, nestled in one of the most distinct parts of town. He had purchased it years ago, when he'd made his success as a lawyer, and ever since it had been his home. Now, however, he had a son living there and was bringing a girl that was pregnant with his next child under his wing too, everything seemed confusing. Gold felt both angry with Lacey's decision and blessed for being given this child, apart from any circumstances. He parked his car in front of the house and there was an awkward moment where the two of them just sat there, without speaking and without knowing what to do. Lacey decided she'd had enough of it and opened the door, getting out of the car. It took him another couple of seconds to follow her to the doorstep.

He took his keys from his pocket, toying nervously with them, a little afraid of the next move. Lacey however, didn't seem to have any patience to deal with his uncertainty now.

"Will you open the door or do you intend us to spend the rest of the night outside?" She asked, sarcastically.

"I'm sorry," Adam answered, plunging the key in the lock. He gesticulated for Lacey to enter the house. "Welcome, I do hope you can feel at home here."

What he truly hoped, was that at some point he would wake up and realize it all had been a dream and none of this was really happening. How was he capable of making a fool of himself this way? Had he really started writing a contract that guaranteed him full custody of the baby he had conceived with a much younger girl in a bar the night he was rejected by his bride? What kind of joke had his life turned into?

"Thank you," Lacey said a little too emphatically, before stepping in.

He followed her, leaving his laptop bag near the coatrack, assisting the brunette with her own coat. He walked towards the living room, seeing some toys spread on the floor. A soft genuine smile twitched at his mouth for the first time that day.

"Bae?" Gold called.

A little boy came running from the other end of the room, where he had been with his redheaded chubby nanny, throwing himself in his father's arms. Lacey couldn't help but smile at that scene. Bae was the cutest thing she had ever laid her eyes on, his brows were a little wavy, his dark eyes shiny and a red superhero cape cascaded down his shoulders. That made her wonder for a brief moment if her child would be look as adorable as its half-brother. However, she quickly rid herself of those thoughts, remembering that she shouldn't under any circumstances get attached to this baby. The separation would hurt even more if she started to care about it.

"Papa!"

"How is my boy?" Gold asked, touching his cheek affectionally. "Did you have a great day at school?"

"Yeah, I drew something for you," Baden replied happily, rushing back to where he had been playing, opening the small full-coloured backpack that was resting on the floor.

Lacey thought that Gold's house was definitely beautiful, but surely too dark. It had large windows to let the light in, but every single piece of furniture was painted in some shade of colour that was darker than her soul and it somehow made her feel a little depressed. In the past, her mother had furnished their tiny home with all white things and cheerful decorations, and the urge of doing the same to Gold's house made her heart constrict in her chest.

Breathing in, Lacey shook her head. Her hormones must have been acting up for her to have such stupid thoughts.

"Mrs. Nolan said he is doing great," she caught the nanny saying to Gold.

"I bet he is, thank you Helga," Adam said sincerely, before touching the girl's arm to get her attention, gesticulating in the woman's direction. "Lacey, this is Bae's nanny, Helga Potts. Helga, this is Lacey, she is going to spend a couple of months here."

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Mrs. Potts answered, offering Lacey a brief handshake. "Do you want me to prepare one of the guestrooms for her before I leave?"

Gold nodded and Lacey realised that his nervous hand was still on her arm, stroking it so gently that it brought back memories of their night together, making her want to whisper to him that she didn't want to be in any bedroom that night which wasn't his, but she kept quiet. "I would be very grateful."

"Alright, it will be ready in a minute, Mr. Gold."

Helga disappeared up the staircase, and Baden toddled back over to where they were, a paper in his hands, but his deep brown gaze fixed on Lacey, as if now he realised she was there.

"Papa, who is she?" The little boy asked.

"This beautiful young woman, Bae, is a friend of mine," Gold explained, kneeling on the floor, so their faces were at the same level. "Her name is Lacey."

"Hi," he waved at her. "I'm Baden!"

"I know," she returned with a smirk, "it is very nice to meet you, little boy."

Brushing at his son's shoulder, Gold gathered the courage he needed to begin telling him in the softest way he could about the deal he had made with her; he just needed to find the right words to do so and not startle the boy.

"Is it ok for you if she stays with us for a while?"

"Yeah," Bae agreed, before his eyebrows narrowed in concern, and he asked: "Is she homeless?"

Biting at her lip, Lacey suppressed a laugh.

"No, my boy," Gold answered with a chuckle, "actually she's here to help me give you a gift."

"A gift?" Baden's eyes glowed. "I want it, can I see it?"

"Not yet."

"Can you tell me what is it?" He begged, showing his father those puppy dog eyes that he knew Gold wasn't able to deny.

The problem, however, was that Adam seemed to have lost his ability to speak, because he didn't know how to explain to his son that he had a one-night stand with a random woman in a bar, and gotten her pregnant. He was struggling to understand how it had happened, and he didn't know what exactly to tell his boy, until an old remembrance popped up in his mind.

"Remember when you used to ask your mama to give you a sibling to play with?" He asked Bae and the boy nodded. "Well, Lacey will bring one for you."

"You're having a baby?" Baden asked, stunned.

"I am," Lacey mumbled hesitantly, but in the second she finished her short sentence, Gold's son threw his arms around her legs, surprising her and making her lose her balance a little. "Whoa."

"Thank you!" the boy said, sincerely. "Can it please be a boy?"

"I - "

"None of us get to choose what it is, son." Gold interrupted, probably knowing that she had no idea of what she was going to say. "But now, can you promise me that you'll be good to Lacey while she is here?"

Nodding emphatically, Bae spoke. "Sure!"

"Great, go get ready for dinner."

Gathering his backpack, Baden ran upstairs to his bedroom, and she just stood there, looking at the cheerful boy, almost jumping with happiness at a situation she considered a disaster.

"I have to admit, you have the sweetest kid in this universe. I was expecting him to freak out."

"Nah," Adam grumbled, rising from the floor. "Bae is passive most of the time, and he is just a child who has no idea how messed up this is."

"Mr. Gold, the bedroom is ready," Helga informed him, walking towards them. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going home. See you tomorrow."

"Bye, Mrs. Potts," Gold replied, watching as the nanny disappeared down the hallway before turning back to Lacey. "Care to see your room?"

She nodded, allowing him to rest his hand on her back, leading her upstairs. His touch was warm through the fabric of her dress, the firmness of his fingers against her, making her heart race and her breath get caught in her throat. He was too close, but not as close as she wanted him to be. Of course, by the moment they sealed the deal, she knew that nothing would ever happen between them again, but that didn't prevent her from still wanting him, because Lacey had never felt so good as she had in his arms.

Upstairs there was a large hallway with five doors, one which was open. Gold took her straight there, turning on the lights to allow her to get a better look inside. Lacey held her breath. It was wonderful. The walls were covered by cream wallpaper, the bed, a queen-sized one had rosy covers and red sheets, a desk was set on one side near the nightstand, and two doors led to a closet and an en-suite bathroom. She could almost imagine were she would place every item she had brought with her, because even though the furniture's dark wooden shade still didn't please her, the simple perfection of all the rest eclipsed this small detail.

"It's huge, comfortable," Lacey commented, walking around, a little stunned. She let herself fall on the bed with a grateful smile. "Thanks."

Gold's lips were slightly curved in that sad, half-smirk he used at the bar when they'd met, but his eyes were fixated on the floor when he muttered: "Do you mind if I book an ultrasound for you?"

"Not at all," she answered, tracing the patterns on the duvet. "Adam?"

"Yes?"

Lacey took a deep breath, then lifted her chin, recovering her strength. "Are you mad at me?"

"For what?" He questioned with an arched brow.

"Getting pregnant," the brunette shrugged. "Do you hate me for that?"

Lifting his head to look straight at her, Adam appeared to be as broken as he was after being left at the altar by his bride, his greying hair falling beautifully in front of his eyes. In his unique way, he was the most handsome man Lacey had ever met. Screw all the young, good-looking boys she knew, nothing could compare to his beauty and the fact that he was way older than her only excited her more.

"No, of course not, why would I?"

"I know you're mad at me for some reason," she pointed out. "I can feel it."

"Lacey - " he tried to say, but she stood up, walking slowly to him, while she shook her head.

"It's alright, I'm used to it."

"Papa, I'm hungry!" They heard Baden calling from the end of the hall.

Gold gesticulated in the direction of the stairs. "Do you like pizza?"

"Who doesn't?"

* * *

"Lacey?" She heard a distant voice call, too distant for her sluggish state to pay any attention to it, so she ignored it, but it insisted: "Lacey?"

"Mm?"

"Lacey!" The voice called louder, right in her ear.

A scream escaped her lips, and she sat up quickly on the bed, and she almost made Baden fall to the floor. He gripped the bedcovers to steady himself, staring at the unkempt young woman, untidy in her cotton turquoise pyjamas.

"What the - " she started, before realising that she was speaking with a child and should control her tongue. "Geez, you scared the hell out of me, kid."

"Sorry," Bae mumbled. He was dressed in a black school uniform and seemed way too awake and ready for school. "You said a bad word, Papa says we should never say bad words."

If Baden thought that "hell" was a bad word, she couldn't imagine how he would react if he heard his father speaking all the curses he did while he was with her in the library.

"How hypocritical," she whispered under her breath, throwing the covers back and standing to her feet.

Bae slipped off the bed, following Lacey around the bedroom as she picked some clothes from the drawers, where she had organized them the night prior. "Papa said breakfast is served and you should hurry, or you'll be late."

"Well, thank you, I'll change," she waved the clothes at him, and the boy shrugged, making his way to the door, but suddenly, he stopped, looking back at her.

"Lacey?"

"What is it?"

"When will I be able to see the baby?" He questioned.

"Not for quite awhile," she told him, "but maybe we can feel it moving soon."

"Cool."

Rolling her eyes, Lacey mumbled something to herself about not needing an alarm clock anymore, if Bae was to wake her up every single morning this way, and a great part of her suspected that it was Adam who had commanded him to wake her, because someone so sweet, wasn't able of plotting to annoy her this way by his own will.

Stripping her pyjamas, she pulled on the clothes and shoes she had picked and grabbed her purse, going downstairs to find the house filled with an incredible smell of something baking, which made her heart warm. Lacey hadn't eaten anything homemade ever since her mother had died. She and her father constantly bought frozen food, and she only got to eat something really delicious when she stopped by her friend Ruby's house and stole a bit of her grandmother's superb cooking.

Her stomach made a low grumble of desperate need for the food, and she entered the kitchen where Bae was sitting at the breakfast table and Gold was standing in front of the stove, flipping some pancakes.

"Good morning," Adam said, when he heard her pulling up a chair and sitting near his son.

"Morning."

"I hope you like panc..." he started to say, preparing a plate for her and turning around to place it on the table, his gaze fixated on her outfit, and he swallowed hard. "Is that what you wear to work?"

"Most days," Lacey replied with a shrug, picking up the fork and the knife, slicing into a pancake.

"A see through white blouse and a black bra?" Adam inquired, arching a brow.

"Enjoying the view, Mr. Gold?"

"I - I - " he stammered, his face turning bright red, his gaze still locked on her transparent blouse.

"I'm just making fun of you," Lacey guffawed, when he looked away. "You're blushing."

Each one of his features showed how much he was uncomfortable, and she knew if Adam still had the plate in his hands, he would have already dropped it on the floor. They had almost forgot about Baden's presence, but the good thing was that he wasn't paying much attention to their conversation and even if he was, Bae wouldn't have understood a thing they were implicitly saying, however, when his small voice spoke again, both of them looked at him a little startled.

"Papa will you drop me off at school before work?"

"Of course I will," Gold said. "And I'll take Lacey to her work at the library afterwards."

"You work in a library?" Bae asked, interested.

Lacey grinned, glancing at him over her plate of pancakes. "Yep."

"Can you take me there someday?"

"Sure, why not?"

Baden granted her a giant smile as he reached for the honey and spread some over his pancakes. "I like you."

"I like you too, wee one," Lacey answered, and saying those simple words to him was like being drawn to an entire new universe that she was sure she would soon become addicted to, just like a truly exhilarating book.

And if those experiences had taught her anything, it was that it was near impossible to step back when you already had a new passion filling your thoughts all the time. Surely this life, flirting with Gold at the breakfast table and making little Bae giggle seemed to be exactly the kind of one that would be the end of her, because it would make her happy. She was going to be forced to give away her baby and leave, and it would destroy her even more than her mother's death had.


End file.
